spacetoday.net: Spacewalkers begin ISS battery replacement

Posted: Thu, May 20, 2010, 7:37 AM ET (1137 GMT)
STS-132: EVA #2 (NASA)

Two spacewalking astronauts replaced several large batteries on the International Space Station and performed other work during a seven-hour spacewalk on Wednesday. Steve Bowen and Michael Good spent seven hours and nine minutes outside the station on an EVA that started at 6:38 am EDT (1038 GMT) Wednesday, the second of three EVAs planned for the STS-132 mission. The two replaced four of six large batteries on the station's port truss, one more than originally planned; the remaining two will be replaced during the mission's final spacewalk Friday. The two also fixed a snagged cable in the shuttle Atlantis's orbital boom sensor system that had limited its ability to inspect the orbiter's exterior earlier in the mission. They also finalized the installation of a backup Ku-band antenna installed on Monday's EVA. On Thursday the STS-132 crew will get a few hours of time off after opening up the new Rassvet module on the station for the first time.